SALT LAKE CITY — An 18-year-old man died following an overnight shooting in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City.
Police say they responded at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday after receiving several 911 calls regarding a shooting near a Walgreens at 909 East 2100 South.
“I told my wife, ‘Something’s going on,’” said Anthony Reyes, who lives nearby.
“When you’re in bed asleep at 1:00 in the morning and you hear a bunch of gunshots, it’s shocking,” said Paul, who also lives nearby.
Upon arriving, officers found J’kye Lovell Ray Watkins on the ground at the scene and started life-saving efforts before he was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition.
Watkins later died due to his injuries.
“That’s sad. Really sad,” said Kim Reyes.
“No one wants to have something like that happen 100 yards away from their house, so it’s a little bit scary,” said Lynn Wummel.
A search for suspects began immediately, with witnesses telling police that a suspect or suspects left the area in a car.
Police learned of a fight that had occurred just before the shooting but don't know if it was connected to the incident.
“There was a large group of people who were in this area near 900 East, 2100 South when there was some sort of argument and some sort of fight,” said SLCPD spokesman Brent Weisberg.
There have been no arrests, but homicide detectives are taking over the investigation and consulting with gang unit detectives.
“We believe that were several witnesses, eye-witnesses to the shooting that may have critical information that will help our officers and detectives build a timeline together to figure out what happened,” said Weisberg.
Anyone who lives nearby with doorbell cameras or may have driven by with a car dashcam is encouraged to look through the footage and share it with the Salt Lake City Police Department.
